CLEMSON, S.C. -- — Mark Freeman scored 19 points, Alex Gross had 16 points and nine rebounds and Morehead State beat No. 1 seed Clemson 68-64 on Wednesday night in the NIT.

It was the first NIT victory in program history for Morehead State (22-11), which advances to play UAB in the second round.

Kalil Thomas had 11 points and eight rebounds and Drew Thelwell also scored 11 for the Eagles, who made 11 3-pointers.

Morehead State erased a 15-point first-half deficit. After trailing 34-24, Morehead State went on an 8-0 run to narrow its deficit to 34-32 at halftime. Thelwell’s 3-pointer with 4:37 remaining gave the Eagles a 55-54 lead they never gave up.

The Eagles hit 15 of 16 free throws, including four by Freeman in the final eight seconds to seal the win.

The Tigers (23-11) were led in scoring by Chase Hunter, who finished with 18 points. PJ Hall added 13 points, seven rebounds and five blocks and Hunter Tyson finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.